Like any mountain boy, the first thing learned to make the bitter winters more bearable was to conserve as much warmth as you could, and just maybe only your lips will turn blue- for Cloud Strife, however was another story.

Naturally, he was drawn to the cold, sitting down on his wooden roof and overlooking the town with a frown, flecks of snow twirling around him and melting on his exposed skin.

To one side there were the Lockhart's, and to the right were the siblings', across from him he could see the inn, the store, the only three cars in town, the courthouse, the well- and more in the distance- Shinra Villa. More houses behind the circle, whilst the mansion sat alone on it's perch, it's faded and cracked paint visible if he squinted his clear blue eyes and mentally urged himself to.

On the outer edge of town in the outskirts, step-pa was with a slut at the brothel further off in the outskirts.

The thought disgusted him to no end- and the worse thing was nobody did or said anything about it. "Sweetie, it's not that easy." His mother cooed sadly, running her hands though his hair.

He looked up at her and his frown deepened. "Why not?"

"You're not old enough to understand." She nodded as he bit on his lip in an effort to hold back his groan of frustration.

"What's not to fucking understand?" He grumbled, rising to his feet and shuffling towards the large oak tree, it's long arms extended, welcoming, and inviting with its long blueish grey moss draped over it's aged limbs; climbing onto the sturdy branch he carefully climbed down and walked along the sidewalk quietly.

To them he was just a man with not so respectable habits. While most men in the town took to hunting and gave their sons rifles while their daughters received elaborate dresses, he took to the bar every night and frequented the brothel when no one was looking.

Except, Cloud was.

It was easy to learn quirks by just watching- Mr Bosch has a slight slouch? It's probably the medical bill's he's pulling out of his mailbox from the time he broke his foot- no one in the town had insurance; on the contrary to the rumor that his wife kicked him out on the couch and slammed his foot in the door. Mrs Fuhrmann rubbing her temples? Drinking. Some of the older kids in school suddenly craving a behemoth sized platter? Drugs.

It wasn't hard to see.

Mount Nibel was a mass of looming ivory rock with a snowy peak, home to some of the most malicious monsters on the planet- ranging from dragons to wolves it was a far more hostile environment than it's forest. Walking past the mansion the path gave way to black soil that was a familiar solidity underneath his foot.

He never paid much mind to his step father, Cloud would notice the animosity between him and his mother sometimes... A meaningful glare... A rough touch. He really didn't understand, because no one would explain it to him. He scowled, ripping a few berries off a bush he past and shoved them into his mouth; he hated the man, he really did- he hated they way he would drink, he hated the way he pushed his mother around. She wasn't even submissive, but she was scrambling to the fridge to give him another drink.

It made him sick.

He sat on a rock, slightly sloped upwards to overlook the town, only the faint silver outline of the houses could be seen thanks to the moonlight and the lights shimmering on the dark blanket of the night sky. He caught sight of dark glowing eyes watching him through the undergrowth and snow, shaggy fur standing over it's cover.

For now the wolf would just watch. Then it would loose interest in search of easy prey. Sometimes he wished humans weren't like that.

Making his way down the mountain by using the deer trails, and crawling through his window he slipped underneath his blanket and laid his head against his pillow, attentive as the familiar soft creak of the front door hinges' drifted into his bedroom and compelled him to listen as his mother's muffled voice spoke softly.

"...get ...woman...do you...the bills? Do you..." Cloud cringed at the audible crash that followed. "That's right bitch, you don't own shit- go on cry, play the 'victim'."

How fucking dare he? Tossing his sheets aside he jumped to his feet. The door was right there. Open it, he ordered to his trembling fingers. Do something.

"...fucking sleep..." Another crash, and a grumble. His legs gave out beneath him and he fell to the floor listening to his mother's sobs. I'm sorry, I'm sorry I didn't do anything. How could he just sit here? Weak and crying for no reason- he had no reason to, when it was his mother was hurt.

He hated himself for being scared.

Noiselessly, he opened his door and avoided the wooden planks that creaked, sitting down at her side. Tentatively, he rubbed small circles on her shoulder, wishing he was better at comforting her. I'm so sorry. "Go back to bed sweetie..."

Reluctantly, he stood, giving her a light hug before returning to his room and sitting on his bed in silence.

He was so fucking pitiful. Sitting there and doing nothing. He was so fucking pitiful.

He tugged the plug to his alarm clock out of the outlet before it could go off and winced as the sunlight began to seep through his shutters. Brushing his teeth he ran his fingers through his hair, glowering at the stubborn spikes that stood at attention while others did as they pleased. The few strands that fell over his blue eyes tickled his nose and cheeks.

He was smaller than most kids in his grade, he rose to the balls of his feet on his stool and poked at the slight curve developing under his cheek bone. He ran his fingers underneath his chin, feeling the bone and slightly straighter contour. At least now he didn't look too much like a girl.

He reached back to finger the long strands growing at the bottom of his head- or as one of his classmates called it a 'Chocobo mullet'. He would cut it eventually, but for now it was fine brushing the base of his neck.

Changing into his clothes he glanced at the door leading outside in their living room, where his mother slept, an empty glass on the table in front of her. Frowning, he walked to the closet and pulled out a spare blanket and draped it over her body, placing an icepack on her bruising forearm.

Unlocking the window he jumped out of it and slid it shut, and walking down the sidewalk to the school. "Why did you jump out your window?" A familiar voice giggled and Cloud stiffened, looking back to stared wide eyes at the brown haired girl who smiled at him brightly with her red eyes.

Tifa..."...I..." His voice cracked and instead he joked; "...was completing my life long dream of jumping out a million windows."

She blinked in confusion.

"I was joking."

She giggled, and he never felt so undeserving in his short life. "Oh...you're so serious it's hard to tell sometimes." She skipped to his side, smiling wider at the sight of the wooden building. Don't you hate me?

"Tifa-" He began before another voice overlapped his and three girls waved to her from near the flag pole.

"Bye Cloud, I'll see you later." She waved, running over to her friends and leaving him alone to his thoughts. Biting back his resentment, made is ways through the shirt hallways to the library, where the librarian gave him a scowl before returning to reshuffling her stack as Cloud sat himself down at one of the old computers that dusted in the library.

Most children not in the elementary grade didn't know how to use computers since they mostly played outside, or with their toys inside when it was too cold, while Cloud spent equal time on both since Tifa and he fell off the bridge the day she tried to go up the Nibel mountain, most of the other children made him the subject of torment and mockery.

Originally he hadn't meant to become a grey hat, but the internet was just there... Most of the news circulated around the Wutai Conflict between the Shinra Electric Power Company and the western nation.

Since the quickly ending twentieth century Shinra has been rising to power and spreading across the Continents' like weeds and roots hurried into stone, originally starting as a weapons manufacturer, the new SOLDIER department, and growing territory it was quickly becoming an industrial superpower.

Shinra had long been in Nibelheim- proof being the reactor on the mountain (that he might've accidentally cracked into because the entire system was connected), and the mansion (which was a miracle he even managed to work with that system since the computers shouldn't even be functioning)- but the tiny town was quickly deemed insignificant in the promise of a neo-city under construction between Kalm and Junon.

He leaned back in the plastic chair and stared at the Shinra website with a frown, recalling some off the bits he managed to decrypt about the use of mako on human beings- while monsters and all were nice, he wasn't really interested in all that because of the Wutain website (he had miraculously managed to translate using a program that made the school computer crash six times) that was a former school stated the mako was extremely dangerous and exposure could cause an addition or an overdose that could quickly lead to death.

On the other hand, maybe if he had improved strength, he wouldn't be such so pathetically weak.

Mako Poisoning. Death upon exposure. Are you not reading these things? He frowned, running his hands through his hair- while controversial, mako was part of everyday life and provided power to many towns. The people were completely dependent on it. While he didn't understand much, he at least knew that.

The warning bell let out it's shrill cry and the librarian that was trying to look over his shoulder (yes, he noticed you and can assure you that he's not watching porn) scrambled back to her desk and reshuffling her pile of books as he rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Walking into his classroom, and already missing the lone nights of summer when the loud chatter ceased to a whisper at his arrival he could hear a group of girls whisper 'it's the ice prince.'

While the name was in no way offending, it did get annoying once you find that someone took the liberty of putting ice cubes in his book bag right before summer and got him another visit from officer pig-face for getting into a fight.

Along with the name came the rumors of his 'evil ice castle' where he froze animals solid and sucked out their souls- which made absolutely no sense to Cloud, but when he had looked up the concept of 'soul harvesting' he found some interesting search results.

'I heard that the new teacher is from the other continent.'

'My older brother said she was a babe.'

'What's a babe?'

'Who knows.'

Resisting the urge to snicker, the entire class fell silent as a woman with dark skin and curly black hair that bounced in a ball on her head- Cloud had seen the style online, recalling that it was called an afro- bright blue blouse and matching skirt with white stripes it was easy to tell this woman was definitely not from anywhere near Nibelheim.

"Alright y'all, settle down." She urged to a group that resumed gossiping. Cloud noted that there were a few grey strands at her roots. "My name's Miss Merryweather, y'all can call me Miss, Miss Merryweather, or Ma'am. Are we clear?"

"Yes Miss Merryweather." The class replied in chorus, while Cloud remained silent in his seat.

"Good. Let's go over classroom rules." She set down her purse on her desk, taking chalk from it's cup and writing on the board she wrote a number one and wrote the word 'Respect'. "Does anybody know the definition of this word?"

Cloud glanced around, not surprised to see the other second years looking amongst themselves for a clue.

"How about you. What's your name?" She looked at Cloud with her dark eyes observant.

"Cloud." He hesitantly muttered.

"Speak clearly, please."

"Cloud."

He repeated louder, and she smiled gently, then assumed her stern composure. "Do you know the definition Cloud?"

"I wouldn't expect the ice prince to know, he's so stupid." A boy snickered, and Miss Merryweather gave him a chilling glare.

"Would you like to elaborate on that young man?" She challenged, a crease forming between her narrowing eyebrows.

While Cloud wondered why she was getting angry, the oblivious student continued. "They say he's just a little ice demon walking around in human skin, like an animal, he doesn't get that no one likes him either." He snorted.

"What's your name boy?" She frowned, her laugh lines deepening.

"Benjamin." He answered unsurely.

"Benjamin, can you tell me why respect is important?"

"No ma'am."

"Then I suggest you stay on topic." She wrote next to respect 'to acknowledge the qualities of another thing, object, figure, or person positively; to show proper acceptance towards a subject.' "Read along with me; to acknowledge the qualities of another thing, object, figure, or person positively; to show proper acceptance towards a subject." She parroted with them.

"Can y'all tell me why this is important?" Silence. She sighed. "Respect is important because it shows that one values another as an individual, and that he or she honors the personal rights and dignity of the person as a fellow human being. Any questions?"

Raised hands.

She smiled, her shoulders falling slightly. "When I call on y'all, please tell me your name, and say your question." She nodded towards the middle sibling I lived next to. "Go on."

"My name is Mila, and I still don't get why this is important." The red head frowned looking back and forth between Miss Merryweather and the board.

Leaning forward on his desk, Cloud listened intently.

"Because, people who are disrespectful don't make many friends." She explained. "Other people won't want to be around y'all, if y'er not only rude, but if y'all mistreat their belongings too."

That made sense. A few hands went down.

Hesitantly, Cloud raised his hand.

"Yes Cloud?' She smiled a little wider- encouragingly at him and he felt his unease abate.

"Why do you value respect?" He watcher her posture carefully as his question sink in and she looked...elated.

"To me respect means that everyone can live together peacefully with tolerance." She hesitated before she contained. "Do y'all know what Genocide is?"

Most of the class shook their heads. Cloud bit his lip thoughtfully; he had heard the word on an anti-Shinra website, but he never though it was important. He raised his hand again. "Something Shinra does a lot?"

She threw her head back in a hearty laugh, her entire small frame shaking for a long moment before she shook her head. "Yes, son, you could say that. Genocide is the intentional mass homicide of a group with certain... traits, such as religion, or a nation. Yes?"

"Um..." A black haired boy frowned, and twirled his fingers together nervously. "My name is Thomas ma'am, and I was wondering what's religion?"

She paused, tilting her head and smoothing out her afro that sprang up the instant after her touch left it. "A collection of beliefs." She looked like she wanted to say more, and Cloud was tempted to ask her what else she had to say, but Benjamin beat him to it by asking; "Like what?"

Her chocolate brown eyes almost glowed and she turned to the board once more and drew a few strange symbols. "It's more so a cultural system, most explain the world and it's workings and... A 'code' of morals, for lack of better phrasing." She touched her springy hair again.

"They'd have gatherings to practice their teachings and express their beliefs. Most religions believed that before the world was created- or the Universe, if ya will, there was only complete darkness or Choas, but personally I believe it to be a state of complete nonexistence."

"Complete nonexistence..." Cloud repeated in a whispered, eagerly leaning forward with his hands on his desk.

"Then, a figure if higher power- a God, or deity, gave the universe foundation, in some religions they furthered that creation by creating other deities, while others remained the only Gods or Goddess. Most religious scriptures assign...a role, to put it simply- to deities, to explain concepts, such as why the seasons change and why the sky is blue."

She giggled. "Though the actual study of religion is much more complicated, it all runs on the same format because it's all based off of one thing or another- once it no longer becomes relevant or another replaces it, a religion becomes myth."

Cloud frowned, watching as a girl- one of Tifa's trio- raised her hand. "Isolde, Miss, why would people want it become myth?"

Miss Merryweather twirled the chalk in her fingers. "Honestly darling, I have no clue. So far humans are the only one's I know to be so obsessed with categories and groups the real reason was lost long ago." She mused thoughtfully.

"It's like language, constantly changing and evolving that after a while everyone forgets how it started and it becomes part of everyday life- slang and words, that is." She elaborated. "Since yer generation is being built off of technology, science and logic, I expect many religions to become myth soon. Maybe not for a while, but soon enough."

Nibbling on the edge of his pencil, he listened intently as she continued. "But then again the age of scientific discovery could offer much more creative growth than the monsters and legends of my day." She smiled.

"Y'all look like a creative bunch, if you feel like talking to me about anything, whenever's appropriate, feel free. Now onto the second rule." Next to a number two she wrote 'No Bullying'. "Can anybody tells me what this means?" She asked, tapping on the word 'bullying'. "Yes, you in the back."

Cloud craned his neck to look back at a boy with dark hair and bright green eyes. He spoke proudly, upright in his seat. "It's when you mess with someone right?"

"Yes, in a sense, bullying is unwanted, aggressive behave'n a school environment, and often enough times, it happens repeatedly." She chuckled. "Y'all might not have it as bad as my day though. Do you know what 'messing' with someone who's in another age group is called?"

Silence. "Harassment, or if they take it far enough, assault. These days you go to court if an adult harasses someone, which is why respect and 'no bully'n' go together- if you practice respect now y'all are less likely to go to prison on accounts of assault, or if it escalates to a point; murder."

"Murder?" Mila gaped.

"Yes darling, murder- y'all know what that is right?" She watched as they all nodded, Cloud winced when the metal of the eraser scraped his teeth due to the movement, and watched as Miss Merryweather grew serious. "Do y'all know why people murder?" Or the most part everyone remained silent, but out of the corner of his eyes Cloud saw a few shake their heads.

"There's many reasons, but the most predominant are called 'hate-crimes'. Y'all ever heard of that before?" More head shakes. "It's a usually violent movement against certain people, like Genocide, but not all of it's murder. Like, jump'n someone, or burning down a structure of religious value. Now, I'm pretty lenient for the most part since I used to teach older classes and I was a child once, but I don't tolerate religious, sexual, and physical discrimination. It's just unethical."

Discrimination? Unethical?

"Ah, I forgot, discrimination is the unjust, prejudice- that's forming an opinion about someone before you meet them based off of others opinions- treatment of categories of people or things, today it's mostly around the subject of sex, race, age and such." She waved her hand as she spoke."Ethnics are the morals, values and beliefs one places in their life or by society, being unethical betrays those things. A good example is the Wutai conflict- y'all heard about that?"

Cloud sat a little stiffer in his chair.

"Cloud?" She raised a thin, curved black eyebrow at him. "Is something wrong?"

"I...read about that stuff online." He swallowed thickly. How had he missed all this. "It said that 'by sending the new SOLDIER's to Wutai, Shinra is subjecting Wutain's to a Genocide worse than that of the extinct races that were subjected to the worst case Holocausts' in history'." He quoted. "What does that mean? What were they talking about?"

She frowned, sitting down in her desk and folding her hands together. "This is considered to be...'misinformation'...that means what I'm about to tell y'all was completely erased from history books. It also means that it can not leave this classroom or some people will be...scared..."

"Scared of what?" The black haired boy blurted out.

"Ah, sorry, I didn't catch your name." Miss Merryweather smiled sadly.

"It's Jeffrey, Miss." Jeff grinned. "What are they scared of, miss?"

She sighed, leaning back in her chair. "A while before y'all were born there was this once great King who allegedly was the ruler of the planet. He had an army that crippled any threats, genius innovators- people who made things- and a diverse, beautiful culture. At the peak of his reign his own court murdered him, they took control if the world and murdered their own people by burn'n and starve'n them until The Court suddenly disappeared with all their advanced machinery along with them"

"They're all gone?" A student said, while another commented; "if they're gone, why are people afraid?"

"Some say that the spirits of The Court were exiled from the Promised Land for their crimes, so they linger around those who dare speak their names and subject them to eternal suffering." She shrugged.

"Though other accounts that were recovered after the brutality stated that they lingered around those as malicious as them, so there's really no concrete accounts I can build a proper theory on. My third rule is confidentiality, that means if y'all want to tell me something and I don't believe it's harmful to y'all or others I won't tell anyone." Then she laughed. "That doesn't include report cards and progress reports."

The collective awes' that arose was too priceless to not let himself laugh.